what 'don't' you like about the area? (Knoxville, Johnson City: 2010, city hall)

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by rccrain

Riverfront claims to get theirs fresh every day. ???

Well, they may get it everyday, doesn't mean they sell it all every day hehehehehe.
I have to agree with the earlier poster on this. The one time I walked in there to look, not only did the prices make me almost choke, but all the fish looked dried out. Again, that was just in their sales case.

[Tennesseestorm]

The lack of true skyscrapers (25+ stories tall).

We have 10-11 story buildings in the Tri-Cities (most are in Bristol, as we have about 5 that are 10-11 stories tall and a few more that are 5-7 stories tall), a couple of 10-11 story tall buildings in Johnson City (Bank of Tennessee and John Sevier are a couple), not sure about Kingsport, but it would be a change for the area. I guess we are the metro area that is the furtherest behind this in Tennessee, because even Knoxville has some really big buildings.

I have seen alot of land "wasted" on wide buildings, when a taller building would do. I may get flamed over this, but I just like tall buildings rather than the old flat ones.

[BuzzCam]

We are supposed to have a building, 70 stories high, built in Nashville. This would be the tallest in the Southeast.
I haven't heard much about it, since the economy has worsened, but it sure would make our skyline look strange. The current tallest building is one we call, "The Bat Building" and it is about 30+ stories high. There are a few other buildings almost as high.
Coming into town from any direction, the buildings do not look that tall, as the downtown area is lower than the surrounding suburbs.

This is probably just an urban legend, but when I worked in Bristol in the 1970s, I was told the buildings could only be built just a few stories high due to the numerous caverns which run under the area.
Guess they did not want Bristol to disappear into a sink hole. But, again, this may be an urban legend. I wish I remember where I heard that one, but this was back in the 1970s, and I am lucky if I can remember anything from 70 minutes ago

[jabogitlu]

Maybe, but I mean, really, what in the world would we put in a story with 30 floors? I like the low-slung look of the TRI, but what I wish would've happened in Johnson City is that all the fairly large buildings (Bank of Tennessee, the bank tower back at the theater whose name I forget, and the one up on the hill at Sunset Drive whose name I forget, plus the couple of large hotels spread out on Roan around I-26) would've build in a cluster, so it actually would've made the city look cohesive. If you're viewing "new downtown" Johnson City from Sunset - which has the best vantage - you can see that we actually DO have lots of nice architecture, especially with the ACV tower and that weird, spaceship-needle-looking church, but it's just spread out all over the place.

I've heard lots about the Nashville Signature. I really hope that comes into fruition. Tony G is a genius with stuff like that. With all the luxury condos and other development going into The Gulch Nashville's skyline is changing anyway. Might as well throw a building that would be twice as tall as anything else into it, too.

[Tennesseestorm]

Yes, I have been reading about the Signature tower and I hope it gets built!

Some of that is true to an extent about what you said about the caverns. I have never heard about caverns in the downtown area, but there is a creek that runs underground in part of downtown Bristol. The old original Sears building was built over it. I thought it was sinking which is why it was torn down, but obviously not because that is where they are building that new restaurant in the old downtown area! I know that same creek also runs under part of the parking lot where I work. It worms it way across downtown, coming out occasionally, yielding alot of small bridges downtown.

I never thought about that being a reason they have only went 11 stories high in Bristol... those caverns I mean, but like I said, while we have caverns, I did not know they were downtown. Learn something new daily, because I could see where it could be very possible.

Buzzcam- I have an old post card of Bristol from the 70s. I bet you would like to see that... I will try to find and post.

Originally Posted by BuzzCam

We are supposed to have a building, 70 stories high, built in Nashville. This would be the tallest in the Southeast.

This is probably just an urban legend, but when I worked in Bristol in the 1970s, I was told the buildings could only be built just a few stories high due to the numerous caverns which run under the area.
Guess they did not want Bristol to disappear into a sink hole. But, again, this may be an urban legend. I wish I remember where I heard that one, but this was back in the 1970s, and I am lucky if I can remember anything from 70 minutes ago

Jobs!

I agree with you about the taller buildings in Johnson City... it would have been better had they all been closer together like the ones in Bristol. I mean the John Sevier building seems miles away from the BOT building.

Bristols "mini" skyscrapers are pretty close together... the Holiday Inn building up at exit 7 I81 is really the only one up by itself.

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Maybe, but I mean, really,
what in the world would we put in a story with 30 floors? I like the low-slung look of the TRI, but what I wish would've happened in Johnson City is that all the fairly large buildings (Bank of Tennessee, the bank tower back at the theater whose name I forget, and the one up on the hill at Sunset Drive whose name I forget, plus the couple of large hotels spread out on Roan around I-26) would've build in a cluster, so it actually would've made the city look cohesive. If you're viewing "new downtown" Johnson City from Sunset - which has the best vantage - you can see that we actually DO have lots of nice architecture, especially with the ACV tower and that weird, spaceship-needle-looking church, but it's just spread out all over the place.

[jabogitlu]

Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm

I agree with you about the taller buildings in Johnson City... it would have been better had they all been closer together like the ones in Bristol. I mean the John Sevier building seems miles away from the BOT building.

Well, that is understandable; those areas of the city were developed during vastly different time periods. But I wish some sort of better urban planning had been implemented; and/or hopefully it will be for nascent developments.

While Bristol has caverns, Johnson City seems to have sinkholes. They're all over the damn place, even holding up construction of Knob Creek Rd last year.

[rccrain]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Well, that is understandable; those areas of the city were developed during vastly different time periods. But I wish some sort of better urban planning had been implemented; and/or hopefully it will be for nascent developments.

While Bristol has caverns, Johnson City seems to have sinkholes. They're all over the damn place, even holding up construction of Knob Creek Rd last year.

I know that Bristol's City planners envy JC's setup. One of them taught my business law class years ago.

[BuzzCam]

Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm

Buzzcam- I have an old post card of Bristol from the 70s. I bet you would like to see that... I will try to find and post.

I would love to see it. Post it if you can I'd appreciate it!
I worked at Channel 5 in downtown Bristol in the 70's and 80's, and one of our stairways, in the rounded looking columns on the building, actually separated from the main building. I could literally walk down the stairs and look through a crack which ran the length of the whole column and see outside.
Way off the topic, but kind of a funny story, one morning the Bristol Tennessee side of town had a complete black out. We on the Virginia side still had electricity. Our morning news guy at the time (not Johnny Wood), wanted to move a studio camera outside to show the darkness of the Tennessee side of the town, as the station is only a block from the Tennessee side, while reporting the story. Well, moving studio cameras outdoors during those days was not an easy task. I told him, I would put a black screen on the air with a graphic at the bottom that said , "Pat Meade, Reporting Live from Bristol, Tennessee" while he read the story from our studio to make it look like he was reporting live from the scene. I was just joking, but he wanted to really do that. We didn't do it though, I chickened out and he read the story from the anchor desk. 70's and 80's TV was so much fun to work in.

[jabogitlu]

Originally Posted by rccrain

I know that Bristol's City planners envy JC's setup. One of them taught my business law class years ago.

Oh yeah, as far as setup goes, I agree. Maybe the word I was looking for was cityscape-planning.

[SarahSal]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Oh yeah, as far as setup goes, I agree. Maybe the word I was looking for was cityscape-planning.

"City-scape planning"... Ahhh - with the exception of downtown's streetscape, it all seems like hodge-podge planning to me; mainly malls and strip malls and any place that a developer can erect a commercial building. (Much like the rest of the country's new, mostly, cookie cutter corporate development).

Several years ago an excellent planning firm, Dover/Kohl, was hired to the tune of $250,000 (some of the money from a grant). They produced an incredibly well-thought out plan that gave a whole new appearance to JC, both its downtown and the 'mall areas'. As I recall, lots of trees and sidewalks and less of a 'highway look'. It was an exciting concept and would have totally changed the appearance of the city.

Johnson City has produced and paid for many great plans throughout the years but, unfortunately has never picked one and followed through on its implementation.